Additional funding announced for community-led housing

Housing minister Kit Malthouse has announced £6 million of additional funding to enable community-led housing schemes to progress.

Up to £10,000 will be given to groups to cover start-up costs such as legal fees. A further £3.5 million will be made available to provide technical advice and support that aims to guide communities through the process of housebuilding.

The money will be committed over a two-year period.

The Community Led Homes Programmes will be managed by four housing charities – Confederation of Co-operative Housing, Locality, National Community Land Trust Network, and UK Cohousing.

Malthouse said: “For too long, governments of all stripes have failed to build the homes our country needs, but we are turning that around.

“Alongside £6 million of funding, the programme will also provide crucial training and advice to local groups, ensuring that we are not just building better homes but also building better communities.”

Samantha Jones, head of Community Led Homes, said: “Communities want to play their part in tackling the country’s affordable housing crisis and many are forming community-led housing groups to do so.

“In the next five years the movement will build over 5,000 affordable homes. We’ve created the Community Led Homes programme to help this figure increase further still, and in time, for community-led housing to become a mainstream housing option.”